I'm heading West this winter and have been looking at prices for pretty much everything in Colorado. Originally was thinking Snowmass, but that might have to wait another year. Anyways, Winter Park is going to be a much cheaper route, since I'll be flying into Denver from Ohio and taking a shuttle there, but I don't know much about it (looks smaller?). Telluride is more $1500 or so with lodging 4 days and lifts for 3 days, but looks amazing. If I did Telluride I'd be flying into Montrose, if that makes any difference.

I'm not looking to ride much if any park, I do enough of that back home on the "hills". I just want to cruise, long runs, steeps and explore. Don't care about nightlife, this will be my first time at that kind of altitude so I'm not looking to drink much if any due to the dehydration factor.

So what would the plus/minus be between the two besides the obvious price difference?

Winterpark is the larger resort by far. 1,000 more acres. Snowfall between the two areas is similar with Winterpark just getting a bit more. Relief at Telluride is much steeper and longer. It is the San Juans after all. You can find pockets of steeps at Winterpark. Vasquez Ridge, when open is plenty steep, plus pillow lines, cliff drops, and such are back there. The problem is it's a 30 minute hike out there. The Runaway area, Awe chute, Jeff's chute and others on Mary Jane are steep too, but that stuff gets ski'd off fast. So unless you can nail it right after a storm not so hot. There are some pillow areas inbounds at Mary Jane too that are a ton of fun. Tree riding is some of the best expert trees in the state. Obviously I know the ski area. Finding a lot of the really fun stuff is tough to find though and can be frustrating. The layout is a little weird at times and you can end up walking or pushing if you don't carry your speed in spots. Kind of like everywhere I guess.

All that said, Winterpark is a complete shit show on weekends. Fairly busy during the week too, it's close to Denver. All of the area close to Denver suffer from this. Telluride is just going to not have nearly as many people. The San Juans are much more scenic too. I would definitely go to T-Ride over Winterpark. The only drawback is that there are no price breaks there. You get full pop on just about everything. This is just how it is at the "destination" resorts versus the day trip spots.

$1500 is a lot, but if you can swing it, I'd definitely go to T-ride. A Winter Park trip is just easier to put together if you want to do it in the future. T-ride is gonna be more expensive and a bit more of a pain in the ass since it isn't convenient to the Front Range.

I still haven't ridden at T-ride, but it's a stunningly beautiful area. One of my favorite parts of Colorado.

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"People say that marijuana smoking is going to get in the way of my career. I say to them that on the contrary, my fighting career is getting in the way of my marijuana smoking." -Nick Diaz

March is always the safest bet for good snow. It doesn't always work out, but it's the best bet. Usually keeps you out of the brutal cold too.

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"People say that marijuana smoking is going to get in the way of my career. I say to them that on the contrary, my fighting career is getting in the way of my marijuana smoking." -Nick Diaz

Not much concern for being inundated by spring breakers in T-ride. Just stay away from Summit/Eagle and you'll miss the majority of the spring break madness. Even at Loveland, I can hardly tell when it's spring break.

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"People say that marijuana smoking is going to get in the way of my career. I say to them that on the contrary, my fighting career is getting in the way of my marijuana smoking." -Nick Diaz